I am considering adopting a pitbull or pittie mix in the next few months, but am trying to decide if it would be suitable to my household. Of course, I have the one neutered male shepherd who will be probably a year to a year and a half before I even try to bring another dog home. But I'm more worried about the general compatibility of pitbulls and shepherds. I have had both before, but never at the same time.

For an overview of home life: I have a small apartment that has various walking trails and an off leash park in the middle. I usually walk 2-3 miles per day and play games of fetch and tug sporadically throughout the day. Once or twice a week, we go on a big hike of 8-10 miles at a park. I am doing sports with Kaiju and any new addition would likely also do sports. I do not leave my dog(s) alone unsupervised, so they would be crated when I am away, or would accompany me to work. When playing, Kaiju is quick to give calming signals if he feels he is overwhelmed so I'm not worried about him "dominating" or bullying the other dog and of course if play gets rough or too intense I would step in and enforce a cool off time.

I'm mostly just trying to decide if this would be the right breed for my situation and want to make sure I'm considering all possibilities so anyone with pitbull experience I would love to hear your suggestions/warnings/advice. I would also like to hear anyone's thoughts on whether it is easier to keep a male/female pair vs a male/male? And I am looking at about two years old for the pittie or should I look for older, say four years or so? Thanks in advance!

For additional info, considering pitties partially because when I lived closer to one of my friends, we often had play dates with her two pits and he absolutely loved them. I was thinking maybe since he has had such positive experiences with this particular breed, he may get along better with a new dog of this type? Or maybe I'm completely wrong?

I have no personal experience with those 2 particular breeds but I do have a theory. Depending on the age of the new dog I believe that it could work with the proper meet and greet and socialization. I would definitely recommend crates for the two dogs where they each have a "safe zone" to retreat to. My two dogs are not the same breeds but they are both extremely bull headed. I'm blessed that they got to know each other in a good environment. Apparently the other day (I didn't see it but hubby told me) the rat terrier grabbed hold of Gunther's side and held on as he ran through the yard. If things hadn't been done to socialize correctly this could have ended in horrible things I don't want to imagine for both dogs. The terrier is 6 years old, shows no signs of submission and yet no signs of dominance. Again I know this is no comparison in breeds but the same personalities apply. It comes down to proper socialization. Hope this rambling helps a little.

Hail Gunther 7-2-2013

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If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you ever tried.

"Some people never end up going crazy...what a truly terrible life they must lead." - Unknown

I have a pit bull and a GSD together and I love it! They both have plenty of energy to play together and get along very well.

Really the only worry I would have is DA since pit bulls are well known for it. I don't leave them alone together unsupervised and I've had to separate them for toys and treats since Xena is so pushy she will take stuff right out of Eko's mouth and he gets upset. I bought a break stick when I got her since when she doesn't want to open her mouth there's not much you can do about it, if they ever got into a fight I want to be prepared.

I got a young puppy the opposite sex of my GSD. She grew up with him and they've been best friends since day 1. But an older dog might be better since you will already know if they are DA or not since sometimes it doesn't show up until after they mature.

The only other thing I can think of is you really have to supervise play because pits escalate more and more until the play is so rough they are getting hurt. But when you separate them the one you thought was getting the worst of it snaps at the other's heels lol. Also unless you can see the injury yourself you may not even notice your pit has gotten hurt, they have a huge tolerance for pain. Things got out of hand today Eko slammed Xena into the ground, she popped right back up ready to go but I separated them. I noticed a while later she had a big bruise on her shoulder. Meanwhile Eko yelps if you hold his paw too hard

Mr. Eko 2/14/2012 - My first GSD and my little Romeo

Xena 11/30/12 - My first APBT and my little warrior princess

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Also how does your current dog tolerate rough, in your face play and pushy dogs? Xena walks right up to Eko and nips his cheeks. She has a bulldog attitude and some dogs really can't handle that, but if your dog likes it than it should be ok.

Mr. Eko 2/14/2012 - My first GSD and my little Romeo

Xena 11/30/12 - My first APBT and my little warrior princess

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Also how does your current dog tolerate rough, in your face play and pushy dogs? Xena walks right up to Eko and nips his cheeks. She has a bulldog attitude and some dogs really can't handle that, but if your dog likes it than it should be ok.

He seems to be fine with it when he plays with the four or five pits that we have done play dates with. He'll play along until he decides he's had enough and then he'll either lay down or ignore the other dog until they calm down. I have seen the pittie tenacity, especially when they want to play and I or my friend have stepped in when they kept on Kaiju longer than he wanted to play, but again I always supervise my dogs when they are together, so I have no problem stepping in if one gets too rowdy. I will definitely look into a break stick if I get a pittie, just to be on the safe side.

I have no personal experience with those 2 particular breeds but I do have a theory. Depending on the age of the new dog I believe that it could work with the proper meet and greet and socialization. I would definitely recommend crates for the two dogs where they each have a "safe zone" to retreat to. My two dogs are not the same breeds but they are both extremely bull headed. I'm blessed that they got to know each other in a good environment. Apparently the other day (I didn't see it but hubby told me) the rat terrier grabbed hold of Gunther's side and held on as he ran through the yard. If things hadn't been done to socialize correctly this could have ended in horrible things I don't want to imagine for both dogs. The terrier is 6 years old, shows no signs of submission and yet no signs of dominance. Again I know this is no comparison in breeds but the same personalities apply. It comes down to proper socialization. Hope this rambling helps a little.

Thanks, I am most definitely aware of the "terrier tenacity" if they decide to go after something. I am definitely planning on having a very carefully controlled introduction and socialization process between the two, and the "safe zone" crates are a wonderful idea, especially in the smaller space that I'm in.

I think there play styles are very similar, which is good. I also think that endurance and stamina is very similar. I would be more inclined to get a male pit versus a female with another dog in the house, but that is just my opinion. There are so many that need homes that it shouldn't be hard to find a good one. My dad adopted an older one, the only issue with him is that when he gets a toy he likes he don't let go, he has some powerful jaws. When he visits I don't allow any toys anywhere near. I also do not allow Midnite by him because Midnite can be very in your face and I don't want him to get corrected by this dog because I know I can't get him to release, but again this dog is a senior dog that hasn't been around other dogs much and I don't know his history because he was adopted from the shelter as a senior. I also know that that dog doesn't like dogs when on a walk, but is fine with them at my house.

Hooch is a pit, he was my sons dog and came to live with me due to life changes! My gsds were older, so I only had the mix of the two breeds a year or two. One of the differences for Hooch was he didn't like other dogs in his face. The gsds would mouth each other in play and this he didn't like. One of the reasons I have put getting a puppy on the back burner. I kept them separated when I wasn't there. Also he will go in to "tank" mode, when he would run down the fence line, he knocked poor Clipper over twice. The gsds would always vere around each other/us, but Hooch will plow on thru, he knocked my adult daughter down once, I make him stop and sit now! Otherwise he is a very loving dog, definanitly wants all the attention. He has good eye contact and obeys commands really well at home, outside can be distracted, but will sit and stay put. Loves people. Very well house broke, never bothers anything he's not supposed to have. He doesn't bark a lot, but will alert to doorbell, etc. I think the two things for us would be the in your face thing and wanting all the attention !

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